Articles to LIFT Your Life and Business

The Family Business: Avoid These 4 Lethal Legal Mistakes

by Alexis Neely 15 May 2013

If you operate a family-owned business, or are considering starting one up, there are four potentially lethal legal mistakes you should take care to avoid, including: No employment agreements. Family members who work together are usually hesitant to confront one another if someone isn’t pulling their weight. Having an employment agreement for everyone ensures that […]

3 Legal Tools to Help You Protect Your Business Idea

by Alexis Neely 8 May 2013

Your ideas aren’t worth anything if you don’t get them out there into the world. I come across a lot of entrepreneurs who are afraid that if they talk about their idea, it’ll get stolen and so they keep it under wraps and don’t capitalize on it. Here are three legal tools you can use […]

Immigration Bill May Have Big Impact on Small Business

by Alexis Neely 3 May 2013

The immigration bill introduced by the “Gang of Eight” – a bipartisan collective of U.S. senators – contains recommendations on a number of measures, including the beefing up of border security and visa reform. The proposed legislation also contains some new policies that could have a big impact on small businesses, especially startups. Here’s why: […]

Is That a Real Employee or a Common-Law Employee?

by Alexis Neely 10 Apr 2013

The IRS and the Department of Labor are cracking down on businesses that use contractors but treat them like real employees – or, as the IRS calls them, “common-law employees.” Before you misclassify that contractor, ask yourself these 5 questions: Do you control the work? If you direct how and where and at what time […]

A logistical speed bump is going to delay the number of insurance plan options for small businesses under Obamacare for at least a year, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is now proposing that small businesses have only one insurance plan option to offer employees […]

5 Tax Tips for Small Business

by Alexis Neely 20 Mar 2013

According to SBA data, more than 79 percent of small businesses have no employees – meaning that a majority of small business owners are doing it all. And when tax season rolls around, it can mean plenty of stress for owners of small businesses. A recent Washington Post column provided these five tax season tips […]

10 Legal Tips for Starting Your Own Business

by Alexis Neely 6 Mar 2013

Whether the result of the recent recession or the desire by baby boomers to embark on a new professional path, new business startups are growing fast. Here are 10 legal tips for entrepreneurs who are striking out on their own for the first time: Choose the right entity. Decide if you will be operating your […]

Top 3 Things Small Business Owners Need to Know About the Affordable Care Act

by Alexis Neely 1 Mar 2013

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has launched a new blog series to educate small business owners about what they need to now about the Affordable Care Act before it goes into full effect in January of 2014. The new series tackles common misperceptions about the ACA; one post details the top three things small business […]

The 4 Deadly Legal Mistakes Small Business Owners Need to Avoid

by Alexis Neely 23 Aug 2012

Small businesses dominate the American business landscape, but those that survive several generations are relatively rare. If you are a small business owner, you need to be sure you are not committing any of these four deadly legal mistakes: Mixing personal and business finances. If your small business started as a hobby or a side […]

Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Business

by Alexis Neely 29 Jun 2012

Baby boomers are the most entrepreneurial generation, with much of their personal wealth tied up in the businesses they own. This makes it more important than ever for boomers to undertake some business estate planning for when it’s time to transition into retirement. Experts caution business owners to avoid these common mistakes when preparing to […]